Onna norimono, noblewoman’s palanquin

This sedan chair belongs to the most opulent type of palanquins used in ancient Japan, reserved exclusively to women of the nobility for transport during ceremonies and parades associated with weddings.
The lady entered the compartment through one of the two sliding doors on the sides, facilitated by a rising roof section, and sat on the high silk pillow on the floor, her arms resting on padded corner cushions. The small windows on the doors and the front panel were fitted with sliding privacy grates and protected by roller blinds made of bamboo and silk, allowing the occupant to see outside without being observed. If necessary, larger curtains were hung when the doors were left open. The large central pole was made for lifting, an operation that required four to six men.
The interior panels are decorated with landscapes featuring rivers, waterfalls, and blooming hills, as was usually the case. Instead, the seatback panel features a large pine tree with pairs of millenary turtles and cranes with their young. These figures allude to the mythical Mount Hōrai and express the wish for longevity and marital happiness. All around there are classical motifs from Japanese literature connected with the seasons like the maple tree, the cherry tree and the nightingale on a plum tree branch. Bamboos, camellias, chrysanthemums, and asters complete the interior decoration, while small flowers highlight the ceiling coffers. The exterior decoration is made in gold sprinkled on lacquer and features leafy and blooming clusters of paulownia and the Inoue clan family crest. This version of the crest is composed of eight hawk feathers arranged radially within a five-lobe perimeter formed by “handle” motifs. The gilded bronze plates are engraved with phytomorphic spirals on a background of circles made to resemble fish eggs.
Recent restoration has revealed an older layer of lacquer under the present one and other phytomorphic motifs engraved on the back of the bronze plates. These intermittently include the family crest of the Ōkubo clan, suggesting that at one point the sedan chair changed ownership. This palanquin fell into disuse with the dissolution of the feudal system that characterized the Meiji Restoration. It was then purchased by Count Giovanni Battista Lucini Passalacqua in the 1870s and today represents one of very few examples of lady’s palanquins in Europe.